Afterlife
by xigbarg
Summary: Roxas is dead, and the only person that can help his soul reach the afterlife is a bad-mouthed redhead.


**Hey guys, this is the first fic I've written in a while, so I'm sorry if it kind of sucks x-x**

 **DiZ-Claimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, that is property of SquareEnix and Disney**

 **WARNING: Mature Language. Meh.**

This morning started off like any other. A bundle of messy blond spikes of hair rolled out of bed, stretched, and rubbed ceruleans orbs. The blond then continued to rummage through his dresser, only to find nothing to wear. He continued to sigh, and irritatedly waddle downstairs to the laundry room, to hopefully uncover a clean pair of jeans to wear for the day. Unfortunately he didn't make it that far. The blond was put at a halt at the end of the stairs when he noticed the soft wailing coming from the kitchen.

He crept around the corridor, totally derailing his path towards the laundry room. Once his foot met the cold linoleum floor of the kitchen, he stopped, only peaking around the corner.

"I-I just can't believe this has happened." His mother, Areith wailed like a big baby. His mother was known to be an over-reactor. Surely, she had just broken a teacup, or the cat got outside again.

The blond's father, though, never comforted the brunette when such things happen, yet there he was, standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders. He was also looking rather…. distraught. Which was never something he did, ever. Cloud never got upset, at least, the blond had never seen him look so… hurt; it was kind of off-putting.

"He was just here, in my arms last night." Yup, the cat must've gotten out again.

The blond took it upon himself to step into the kitchen, and walk straight in front of his mother. He was sure he wasn't the only one that was sick of this non-sense. "Mom, Lulu gets out all the time, and she always comes back. Get over it."

Normally the blond would have received some sort of backlash for being so rude, but it was almost as if he wasn't even in the room; his mother continued to weep loudly into the palms of her hands, and his father continued to console her silently.

"What the hell, guys? It's just a fucking cat."

Again, no response.

Just then, the blond's brother sluggishly walked downstairs, looking as if he had no sleep at all. The bags under his eyes were dark purple and his eyes were red, as if he had been crying for hours.

 _All this over a cat?_

Cloud directed his attention to the other blond once he heard the stairs creak with the boys steps. "Hey pal, you okay?"

The blond on the stairs said nothing, but just continued down the steps in silence, joining his parents at the dining room table. As soon as he sat, he spoke up, "How could I be okay, dad?" A tear began rolling down his pale cheek, and he did nothing to prevent it from rolling down past his chin. "Roxas is _dead._ He died last night! Are _you_ okay?!"

"Okay, cut the shit guys, this isn't funny." Roxas grumbled, now kind of irritated. This had to be some kind of sick joke his family was playing on him. He wasn't dead, he was right there in the kitchen with them. "I'll give you guys some credit though, your acting is great."

No one flinched, no one reacted, it was the same as it had been before he spoke. Everyone was somber, quiet, or crying. It was really getting under the blond's skin.

"You guys are so fucking immature." Roxas growled as he headed for the front door. He slammed the door behind him as he trucked to the end of the driveway and sat down. This was fucking bullshit. He wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead, he was here obviously; looking at the trees gently swaying in the wind, hearing the birds chirping high above his head. A dead person wouldn't be sitting at the edge of their driveway, they'd be in the ground pushing up daisies, which he obviously, was not.

The blond sighed and kicked at some pebbles on the ground. He heard footsteps coming down the sidewalk, but didn't bother to acknowledge them until they stopped right in front of him. He noticed a dirty pair of skating shoes connected to a ripped pair of bluejeans. Roxas tilted his head up to be met with a smirking face with bright emerald eyes.

"What the fuck are you looking at, loser?"

"Well, the deceased, of course." The redhead chuckled and took a long drag off his cigarette before blowing the smoke into Roxas' face.

"Smoking kills."

"Says the dead non-smoker."

"Why do you keep saying I'm dead!? Obviously I'm not, I'm sitting right in front of your fucking face."

Another chuckle and Axel whipped out his phone. Within seconds the school website flashed in front of the blond's cerulean orbs and in big bold letters it read:

 **RIP ROXAS S. STRIFE**

 **YOU WILL BE MISSED.**

"You fucking put that." Roxas growled in disbelief.

"Yup, you caught me, I hacked into the school's website to fuck with some kid I've never even met before. Look, I was sent here to help you, not to get bitched at. If you don't want to believe you're dead, that's on you. I don't have to stand here and listen to some bullshit that you aren't dead when everyone and their mother's know that you died last night."

"Wait, you were _sent_ here? By who?" Roxas questioned.

"Okay, so I wasn't exactly sent here. My instincts brought me here, I didn't know you'd be here, but I ended up here."

"You know how fucking insane you sound? And if I _am_ dead how come you can hear me, and see me?"

Axel flicked his cigarette and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "That's a story for another time, kid. Now, do you want my help or not?"

Roxas sat there for a minute, twiddling his thumbs and thinking to himself. Could he really be dead? It could be a possibility; the blond was known for partying, drinking, and doing the occasional drug. He was the most popular guy in the school.. so that would explain the message on the school website. But who the hell was this guy, and how did he know about Roxas, or Roxas' death? He couldn't have gone to highschool with him, the blond had never seen him before.

"Can you at least tell me who you are?"

"My name is Axel. I'm a senior in high school. Kind of a nobody. Whatever."

"That's it?"

"Yup, now you coming or not?"

Roxas sighed and stood up, which caused Axel to smile. "Good choice, kid."

Axel turned on his heel and began heading in the same direction that he had came from, Roxas followed closely behind him. "Where are we going."

"Where you died."

Roxas froze in his steps. "Is my… is my body still there?"

"No, dumbass. They cleaned that shit up earlier. All that's there now is some scrap metal."

"Scrap metal? How did I die, exactly?"

"Oh, yeah, I was supposed to try that first. You died in a car accident."

"Try what first? What exactly are you trying to do anyway?"

"My job description is as follows: I'm supposed to find you, and help you get your spirit off earth. You're currently stuck here because there's either, A. Something you didn't finish here, or B. You were confused as to why you died in the first place. And seeing how I just told you why you died and you didn't fade away, I'm going to go with the first choice."

"Well, I'm still a little confused on how I died. Who was driving? Who was I with? How did the crash happen?"

Axel shrugged. "You're asking me questions I don't know the answer to. The only way to find that out is to ask people you associated with."

"I associated with EVERYONE."

"Not everyone, but I understand what you're saying. You were pretty popular."

"Not everyone? How would you know?"

Axel stopped and eyed the blond. "I went to highschool with you, dipshit."

Roxas thought for a moment. He could've sworn he had spoken to everyone at Hollow Bastion High at least once. Everyone except for the loners, but he could almost be one hundred percent positive he would've remembered that flaming red hair.

"It doesn't matter now, though. You're dead. So let's find out why your soul is stuck here." The redhead began walking again, and Roxas followed.

After walking for what seemed like a millennium the duo ended up on the corner of Broadway and Silver Lake. Roxas identified the spot almost immediately. He came to this part of town often, this was a big party scene for all the popular kids at school. His friend Tidus even lived down the block. It wasn't too far from Roxas' house either, maybe around six blocks.

"Well, this is it."Axel said, as he gestured toward the ground. A door handle, a piece of the bumper, and some shards of glass were scattered around the ground, but other than that, it was pretty cleaned up. "I died here?"

"No, not here exactly. You died on the way to the hospital. This is where the crash happened though. They cleaned it up pretty nicely though, right?"

Roxas walked around for a moment, stared at the glass, but nothing came to him, nothing happened. It was just like he was staring at some random rode in the city. "Axel, this isn't doing anything."

"Damn, I was hoping this was when you'd disappear and I could go back to fucking sleep."

"Rude." Roxas scoffed, and walked back to the sidewalk. "Where to now?"

Axel shrugged. "Home."

"Home?"

"Yeah, home. This is a step-by-step plan. We'll try something new everyday. And we've already tried something today, so, I'm going home." Axel then began to head in a different direction, presumably towards his home.

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do!?"

"Whatever you want. You can come with me I guess, but that's totally up to you." Axel called over his shoulder, and Roxas sighed. He began sluggishly following the redhead down the road.

The nice suburban houses slowly turned into regular middle-class houses, and those houses turned into run-down houses, until they were finally at some trailer park in the worse part of town. "You live down here?"

"Yeah, if you've got a problem with it, you can always go somewhere else. I know you rich kids aren't used to seeing shit like this." Axel pulled another cigarette out of his pack as they walked down the line of trailers. Some of them had awnings with holes in them, some of them had dogs tied up in the front yard, and some of them even had trash sprawled out everywhere on their lawn. It made Roxas frown.

Axel stopped at a trailer that desperately needed a paint job and climbed the steps to the front door, Roxas followed suit. The redhead didn't even unlock the door, he just pushed it open and a foul stench reached the blond's nostrils, which caused him to immediently cover his nose with his sleeve. "What the fuck is that smell"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Dog."

The redhead then walked inside and Roxas saw what he was talking about; there were at least 10 dogs in the living room alone, and that made the blond's stomach clench. How could anyone live with that many animals in such a small place?

Axel totally disregarded the canines and waltzed straight down the hallway and to the last door on the left. Roxas followed.

As soon as Axel closed his bedroom door, Roxas gasped. "What the fuck is this!?"

The redhead's room was a total mess. Clothes all over the floor, food and other opened containers littered the dressers. Axel shrugged. "My room?"

"Well it's disgusting."

Axel didn't say anything. He simply kicked his shoes off and plopped down on his bed, rolled over on his side, and pulled his blanket up to his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Roxas moaned.

"Going to sleep, like I told you I was going to do earlier."

"Seriously? I'm _dead_ and you're worried about catching some beauty rest? What the hell?"

Axel groaned and moved back into a sitting position. "Well what do you suggest we do, cupcake? Play some catch? Go to the movies? This isn't normal day shit, Roxas. You're dead. I'm not. You can't do the things I can do."

Roxas frowned. That kind of hurt him. He wasn't able to do the things he use to. He couldn't hang out with Hayner, or Tidus. He couldn't play blitz ball with Wakka. He couldn't go to the movies, eat dinner with his family, go to school, or even talk to his brother. He was just stuck here, and he would be until he figured out what was keeping him here. And that nearly broke his heart. "I'm sorry, Axel. You're right."

Axel stiffened. He had really hit a cord in this kid and now he felt awful about it. Even if Roxas was the most stuck-up guy at Hollow Bastion High, he was dead, and it was a little sad. "Sorry, Roxas. It's just.. I don't get a day off. I have to deal with this kind of stuff all of the time and I kinda.. I dunno.. I didn't feel like doing it anymore."

Roxas tilted his head at this and bit his lip. "What do you mean you deal with this all the time? I'm not the first spirit you had to help?"

"No, you're not. People die all the time and there are very few 'Holy Helpers' as my Nana likes to call it. There are only three in this town, and it seems like I get stuck with most of them. I just wanted to relax for a day."

Roxas nodded. "Can you tell me about the Holy Helpers?"

Axel began twiddling his thumbs. "Okay, so there are three of us, like I said. When someone dies around here, the soul goes one of three places: Heaven, Hell, or Limbo. You, are in limbo. When souls get caught in limbo there's often a very large reason for it. Whether it be, they didn't get to say goodbye to someone they loved or they didn't even realize they died in the first place. We're the only people that can see, hear, and talk to you. We're the only one that can help you get to your final sentencing. And we can't give up until your soul fades away into the afterlife. It's kind of tiring. It can take anywhere from ten minutes to two years for a soul to find it's way. But I have to make sure I do it."

Roxas didn't say anything, he kind of wanted to give the redhead a hug, even though he should be the sad one seeing how he was dead and all. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he were the one having to deal with dead people 24/7. He probably would've gone mad and offed himself to stop all of it. So he could feel Axel for wanting a day away from all of it, or to sleep without having a soul breathing down his neck.

"Tell you what, Axel. Get some rest, we can try something tomorrow."

Axel nodded, laid back down, and closed his eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep. While Roxas stared out the window with his thoughts, trying to figure out what exactly was holding him back.


End file.
